Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
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For surgical trainees and associate fellows, the Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons (RAS-ACS) serves to familiarize you with College programs and leadership. RAS-ACS provides you with an avenue to participate in ACS affairs, to develop and use your leadership skills in organized surgery, and to voice your opinions and concerns as Associate Fellows and trainees to College leadership.
Structure
The Governing Board of RAS-ACS includes the immediate past Chair, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, and Representatives to the Advisory Councils.
How Do I Participate in RAS-ACS?
Membership
Membership in the RAS-ACS is composed of Resident Members and Associate Fellows of the College.
RAS-ACS Committees
Connect through the work of the standing RAS-ACS committees.
Vice-Chair Elections
Each committee will be holding a call and election for the Vice-Chair position during their Clinical Congress meetings. If you are interested in running, be prepared to share in a two-minute presentation what you can contribute to this position. A paper ballot will elect the winner. The Vice-Chair position ascends to Chair of the RAS-ACS committee. Responsibilities include supporting the work of the committee; attending monthly meeting calls; taking minutes or preparing the monthly call agenda, if needed to support the committee Secretary or Chair, respectively; and reporting to the RAS-ACS Executive Committee during quarterly Governing Council meetings, if the chair is unable to attend.
Secretary Elections
At the monthly committee call in November, we will solicit interested persons to submit their name for consideration as the Secretary of each of the committees. Following the call for nominations, members of the committee will vote on candidates in an online election through Survey Monkey. The position does not ascend to another position on the committee. Responsibilities include taking minutes during each monthly call and assuming the Vice-Chair or Chair position, if needed.
Liaison Positions
A RAS member can serve as a liaison for an ACS committee, Board of Governors workgroup, or Advisory Council. RAS is currently accepting applications for Liaison positions. Please access this page for a list of the positions and the deadline for applications.
Time Commitment
The time commitment can vary depending on what you decide to get involved in. For example, if you join one of the four committees: Advocacy & Issues, Communications, Education, or Member Services, you can expect to work on projects, participate in conference calls, and potentially meet face-to-face.
How Do I Get Elected to the Governing Board?
A nominating committee is convened annually to select candidates for the position of Secretary, which eventually succeeds to Chair. The nominating committee shall consist of four members—the Immediate Past Chair, the current Chair, the Vice-Chair, and Secretary.
It is important you get involved in RAS committees before you start thinking about the Governing Board.
Use the menu to the left to navigate through the various ACS leadership opportunities.
Terms
Officers will serve three successive one-year terms, with election to the position of Secretary that succeeds to the position of Vice-Chair and subsequently to Chair.
Election to the position of Secretary is an online ballot held during August/September each year.
Duties
Chair
Spokesperson for RAS-ACS, providing a voice for the Society with the Board of Regents and the College leadership.
Oversees volunteer leadership of the organization and fostering the ideals identified in the mission statement of the Society.
Presides at all meetings of RAS-ACS.
Attends the Board of Regents meetings to act as a liaison between the Board of Regents and RAS-ACS.
Appoints members to special and standing committees of the Society as needed.
Vice-Chair
Assists in the performance of the duties of the Chair as the Chair may direct.
In the absence or inability of the Chair to act as Chair, the Vice-Chair shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chair.
The Vice-Chair succeeds to the position of Chair at the conclusion of the one-year term.
Secretary
Responsible for the tabulation and reporting of the results of election of new Governing Board members.
Prepares meeting minutes of the Executive Committee meetings.
Performs other duties as assigned by the Chair.
The position of Secretary shall succeed to the position of Vice-Chair at the conclusion of the one-year term.
RAS-ACS leaders actively involved in a current or previous leadership position within RAS or an ACS Chapter are encouraged to apply for the RAS-ACS Executive Committee Secretary position.
